HENRY FORD - A GREAT INNOVATOR
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FORD - THE MASTER CRAFTSMAN OF AUTOMOBILE
By the end of 1903, the Ford Co. had 125 employees and had sold 1,708 cars in
three different models. These automobiles were fitted with two cylinders and
had a capacity of 8 HP. Ford and his team of engineers developed 19 models
during the period 1903-1908 and named them each after a letter of the alphabet
from 'Model A' to 'Model S.' During the same period, Ford himself introduced
five models - Models A, B, C, F and K. Occasionally, the company developed
multiple models at the same time. For example, between 1904-05, Ford
manufactured the 'Model C Runabout' (priced at $800), the 'Model F Touring Car'
(priced at $1,000), and the 'Model B' (priced at $2,000). However, some of
these models were experimental and were not released to the public. In 1906,
Ford introduced 'Model N,' a new, economical model with a low profit margin.
The 'Model N' - a small four-cylinder driven car, priced at $500 - went on to
become popular.
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In the winter of 1906, with the assistance of some of
his colleagues, Ford began work on Model T. He worked for two years in
developing the design and plan of Model T. He conducted thorough research
on materials required to build the car, sometimes in an unorthodox
fashion. After a car race in Florida, Ford scrutinized the wreck of a
crashed French car and observed that many of its parts weighed much less
than the usual steel. Ford's team at Piquette Avenue concluded that the
French were using a type of vanadium[1] alloy. This was something the
Americans did not know to manufacture. Ford found that while the finest of
steel alloys utilized by US auto-manufacturers offered a tenacity of only
60,000 ductile pounds, vanadium steel (though much lighter than US steel)
offered a tenacity of 170,000 ductile pounds. |
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Ford hired a metallurgist and got a steady supply of
vanadium from a steel mill in the US, which made it possible for the Ford Co.
to switch to using vanadium steel for its new Model T. This made Ford Co. the
only manufacturer to use vanadium in the world apart from French racing cars
during that time.
ASSEMBLY-LINE - A 'PARADIGM SHIFT' IN AUTOMOBILE MANUFACTURING
The Ford Co. started its car manufacturing operations using the craft
production system in 1903. Under this system, all cars were made up of the
basic chassis and engine, but the body was designed to suit individual tastes.
In this system, the manufacturing costs were high and did not decline with
increase in volumes.
When the Ford Co. began operations, assembly stands on which a whole car was
assembled usually by one fitter (assembler) were used. Before 1908, a Ford
worker assembled a large part of a car before proceeding to the next car. The
fitters performed the same set of activities repetitively at their fixed
assembly stands. Workers procured the necessary parts, filed them, so that they
would fit and then bolted them in at the appropriate place. Later, to increase
the efficiency of the process, each workstation was supplied with the required
parts; this allowed the assemblers to remain at a given place throughout the
day.
Ford introduced the mass-production system in 1908 for the production of Model
T. Through his continuous innovations, he also revolutionized this idea, which
he had introduced so successfully. The novelty in this system was that the
parts were standardized and fixing them on became much easier. To enable the
parts to be used interchangeably, Ford standardized the gauging sytem[2]
throughout the production process. He began working on pre-hardened[3] metal
that minimized distortion problems like twisting of the metal sheet during the
imprinting of a die[4] .Soon, Ford was able to develop unique designs that
limited the number of parts required and made them easy to fix. For instance,
Ford Co's four-cylinder engine block comprised of a single, complete casting;
in contrast, Ford's competitors had to mold each cylinder separately and then
bolt them together. When perfect part interchangeability was accomplished, Ford
made the assembler perform only the single task of moving from one vehicle to
the other around the assembly hall.
[1] A bright white, soft, ductile metallic element found in
several minerals (notably vanadinite and carnotite), having good structural
strength and used in rust-resistant high-speed tools, as a carbon stabilizer in
some steels, as a titanium-steel bonding agent, and as a catalyst.
[2] A measuring system in which the unit of measurement was
made common for all parts and components.
[3]Pre-hardening
meant hardening a metal without loss of shape by heating and then cooling it
immediately.
[4]A
device used for cutting out, forming, or stamping material, especially an
engraved metal piece used for impressing a design onto a softer metal.
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